Parent Involvement
Take a moment to reflect, how many times have you heard one of the following:
- Parents who don't show up to school for ______, they just don't care.
- Good parents wouldn't let their student ______.
- I do ___ for all parents, isn't that good enough?
- We don't need parents to show up, we just need them to pay for ___.
- All parents want ___ for their kids.
It is very easy to fall into the trap of negativity, but read below for some insight on how these ideas can be set straight to really involve parents and families in your classroom, or school.
Read more below...
Read more below...
Number one...Physical presence, or showing up, is not the only way that a parent can show they care about their child and their education. Are there any teachers that you work with that you are intimidated by? Have you ever had that one teacher that you have been terrified of? Guess what? Parents and families take those same feelings to heart from their own experience, they may be intimidated, or scared of the teacher or educational system as a whole, and they are grouping you in with that feeling. I would avoid you too if that were the case. But how do you remedy this?
Try something non-traditional. Do a neighborhood walk, show up at their door. Find out what church they go to and go. Have Saturday morning coffee. Set up a meet and greet over the summer before school starts and life gets crazy for everyone. Teachers aren't the only ones busy, parents are too! Make positive phone calls. I know we have all heard it before, but it's really true. Use texting, emails, a website, facebook, remind, twitter, and whatever else is the next new thing, to stay in contact with parents, and their students. Last but not least, don't give up!
Number two...Just because a parent doesn't or can't read to their student every night, or just because they do something different, outside of the norm, doesn't make them a bad parent. Think about you and your friends growing up, were you raised the same way? Heck no! Is that okay? Abso-freakin-lutely. Don't think just because it's not your way, or the traditional way, that it's bad. Ask questions!
Number three...As I mentioned in number one, what works for one parent, might not work for others. Maybe you need a translator, do you know? How can you get community organizations involved, or how can you get involved in community organizations? Find out more about not just your students, but their family!
Number four...money isn't the only thing a school needs. Tell parents what you're doing in class, ask them questions via email, you never know what you'll get. Maybe they'd be a great guest speaker, maybe they can help you set up a field trip, maybe they can volunteer, tutor students, help recruit other parents.
Number five...Get to know your parents and families! Parents may have inaccurate misconceptions of YOU too, but you can dispel those myths by putting yourself out there and opening the lines of communication.
This information was modified and paraphrased from "AVID Culturally Relevant Teaching: A Schoolwide Approach."
Try something non-traditional. Do a neighborhood walk, show up at their door. Find out what church they go to and go. Have Saturday morning coffee. Set up a meet and greet over the summer before school starts and life gets crazy for everyone. Teachers aren't the only ones busy, parents are too! Make positive phone calls. I know we have all heard it before, but it's really true. Use texting, emails, a website, facebook, remind, twitter, and whatever else is the next new thing, to stay in contact with parents, and their students. Last but not least, don't give up!
Number two...Just because a parent doesn't or can't read to their student every night, or just because they do something different, outside of the norm, doesn't make them a bad parent. Think about you and your friends growing up, were you raised the same way? Heck no! Is that okay? Abso-freakin-lutely. Don't think just because it's not your way, or the traditional way, that it's bad. Ask questions!
Number three...As I mentioned in number one, what works for one parent, might not work for others. Maybe you need a translator, do you know? How can you get community organizations involved, or how can you get involved in community organizations? Find out more about not just your students, but their family!
Number four...money isn't the only thing a school needs. Tell parents what you're doing in class, ask them questions via email, you never know what you'll get. Maybe they'd be a great guest speaker, maybe they can help you set up a field trip, maybe they can volunteer, tutor students, help recruit other parents.
Number five...Get to know your parents and families! Parents may have inaccurate misconceptions of YOU too, but you can dispel those myths by putting yourself out there and opening the lines of communication.
This information was modified and paraphrased from "AVID Culturally Relevant Teaching: A Schoolwide Approach."